MANAGEMENT ACTIONS
Management Action 1:
Increase efforts to assess and monitor the extent of estuarine sediment contamination, fish and shellfish tissue contamination, water quality violations, and to identify the causes and sources of these problems.
Management Action 2:
Continue to issue fish advisories as necessary to protect public health. Improve communication and education about the risks associated with eating contaminated fish and shellfish.
Management Action 3:
Remediate toxic contamination where necessary and feasible.
Objective D:
Reduce the Risk of Toxic Contamination to Aquatic Life and Human Health
Strategy: Several sites within the APES area were identified as exceeding levels of concern for toxic contaminants in ambient water, sediment, and/or fish tissue using protocols suggested by Cunningham, et al. (1992a).
Concentrations of mercury exceeding 0.15 ppm, for example, have been found in sediments of the Albemarle sound and its tributaries. The Division of Environmental Management (DEM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and other state or federal agencies should coordinate monitoring efforts for these environmental media to provide the maximum geographic and most cost-effective monitoring coverage.
Resources should be concentrated to evaluate the potential impact to aquatic life, wildlife, and human health, and to identify additional contaminated sites.